The Board of the World Editors Forum (WEF) has elected Martha Ramos, the editorial director of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), Mexico, as President, with David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief of the Globe and Mail, Canada, serving as Deputy President.
These respected newsroom leaders will steer the global community of editors at a critical time for journalism. With extensive newsroom experience, a record of enterprising initiatives and a dedication to journalism, both agree this is an important moment for editors to unite and support each other in the face of unprecedented challenges.
Martha Ramos heads the editorial operations of OEM, Mexico’s biggest print media company and the largest newspaper company in Latin America. She has been an active member of the WEF board since 2017 and has contributed to establishing Wan-Ifra’s Women in News initiative in LatAM. Ramos is chair of the inclusion and diversity Committee for SIP/IAPA, chair of the Alianza de Medios Mx, and serves on the board of the Inter-American Press Association. She is a former editor of El Universal, a former web editor of Publimetro Mexico and a former editorial director of Diario 24 Horas.
“The World Editors Forum is a determining voice in defence of freedom of speech, and this is critical, as the times we live in are a challenge for journalism,” notes Ramos. “Inspired by the commitment and professionalism of my colleagues at WEF, I will seek to promote such important issues as evolution in the newsroom, the inclusion of women in decision-making positions and the safety of reporters in their daily work.”
David Walmsley has led the Globe and Mail to multiple national journalism awards during his nine-year tenure as editor. He is the creator of World News Day, and co-creator of the Toronto Moral Injury Scale for Journalists, the world’s only psychometric scale for detecting moral injury in journalists. “We need to convey more clearly why journalism is important,” says Walmsley. “I believe there is enormous advantage in editors from all walks of life coming together to share their challenges and their ideals. We need to support one another like never before.”
